Ready to Make Nice
by adpi24
Summary: CalRose. Rose attempts to start a new life without Cal, Jack and her mother, but something happens that drastically changes this.
1. Chapter 1

Ready to Make Nice

Written by: adpi24

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Even if I did, I couldn't do anything about it, the ship still sank.

I also don't own the Dixie Chicks song, "Not Ready to Make Nice" since that is where I got most of the title from.

Authors Notes:

This is my first Titanic story (although not my first story in general). I've seen the movie a zillion times but this is still new to me.

This will be a Cal/Rose story in the end. Sorry to all the Jack/Rose fans. I really got into the Cal/Rose relationship after I bought a book about the movie and Billy Zane made an analysis of his character. Billy basically stated that "Cal was the product of bad programming and that he could benefit from a loving relationship and that his heart was breaking at the moment he was realizing he had one". That really just hit me and I've always wanted to write a story about that relationship.

I'm will try to keep this as realistic and true to the characters, but please understand that I've got about 50 percent of the story already plotted out, there will be a rhyme and reason to everything although it might not make sense in the beginning. :-D.

So please bear with me and review!!!!!!

* * *

April 17, 1912 

Rose stood on the deck of the Carpathia allowing the rain to pelt onto her and the wind to blow her hair. The cold rain added to her grief. She was starring at the magnificent Statue of Liberty. Prior to Titanic sinking she assumed coming to New York and then on to Philadelphia, she would envision the Statue of Liberty as an object binding her, holding her against her will. Now, she wasn't sure how she saw it. A part of her recognized the freedom it represented but the other part was saddened by the loss of Jack.

"Can I get your name love?"

Rose turned to the Carpathia crew member and answered, "Dawson, Rose Dawson"

That was it; Rose DeWitt Bukater no longer existed.

As the ship docked to the pier, Rose made her way with all the other survivors, to make their way off the ship. She had no idea what she was going to do.

As she made her way off the gangplank she was horded like cattle onto the street. Thousands seemed to be around. Some where holding signs advising the survivors where they could go for help.

She cautiously approached middle aged women, "Hi".

"Hello, I'm Mildred O'Rielly, are you a survivor of the sinking?"

"Yes, my name is Rose, Rose Dawson."

Mildred stretched out her arm and Rose shook her hand, "It's nice to meet you Miss Dawson. I run a women's shelter downtown, when I heard about the sinking I had to be here to support anyone I could."

"I haven't got much." Rose replied.

"We won't worry about that right now, once you're settled and into a job we will discuss the monetary issues."

Rose smiled, "thank you"

Mildred nodded and guided Rose out of the crowds and to a waiting car. Rose could tell that Mildred came from money, much like her and Cal. Thinking about Cal made her heart clinch in an odd way and a flutter in her stomach occurred. After a short drive, they arrived at a brownstone. In a city where buildings spanned stories high the brownstone was small in comparison, only about 5-6 stories from what she could tell on the street.

"Come on dear" Mildred stated and guided Rose out of the car.

Rose nodded and followed her into the brownstone. The inside was very simply decorated. Beautiful throw rugs and coaches filled the living area to the right of the door. To the left looked like a small kitchen.

"I run a shelter for women. Whether it be women who just got off a ship and are looking for a new life, or women who are trying to leave an old life behind here in the city. The brownstone has five floors and there are 10 rooms on each floor. To your right you see the sitting area and to the left is the kitchen. There is a community bathroom on each floor."

Rose nodded and began to follow Mildred up the stairs, continuing to listen to what she was telling her.

"The rules are simple, no overnight guests. No men upstairs in the rooms. You must limit yourself to fifteen minutes in the morning or evening for your shower. The kitchen is a community kitchen, so you must clean up after yourself."

The women arrived to the third floor and Rose followed her to the end of the hall and watched as she unlocked the door and handed the key to Rose. Rose followed her into the room. It was small in comparison to what Rose was used to, but she just was satisfied to have a roof over her head. There was a small closed to the left. A bed to the right against the wall, sheets and blankets were neatly folded on top. There was a window in the middle of the wall that faced out towards an alley, flowered drapes hung over it. There was also a small writing desk on the wall with the closet and the dresser was next to the bed.

"Laundry can be done any day of the week, the supplies are in the back yard, to get to the back you must go down to the first floor and head straight to the back of the brownstone. I have supplied each woman with a nightgown and a dress, the nightgown is in the dresser and the dress is hanging in the closet. In the closet, on the shelf you will see there are two towels and a washcloth, these are yours to use during your stay here. They are your responsibility; I don't supply extras in the bathroom. Soap and shampoo though are provided. I ask that all the tenets attempt to find and secure work within a two week time frame. I also charge 10 dollars a week, due Saturday. Any questions?"

"No, thank you?" Rose said politely.

Mildred nodded, "get some sleep Ms. Dawson; you're going to need it tomorrow, so you can start your job hunting."

Rose nodded and escorted Mildred from the room, closing the door behind her. She leaned against the closed door and slowly slid down to the floor.

And for the second time that day, she began to cry.

* * *

Rose awoke as the sun peaked through her window. She got up and grabbed the towels from the top shelf in the closet. She headed down to the bathroom and was pleased to see that the door was open. She quickly entered, locked the door and started the shower. She was out within 10 minutes. Once back in her room, she changed into the dress that was hanging in the closet. It wasn't a dress that Rose would have picked for herself but beggars couldn't be choosers. She put her shoes on, grabbed Cal's coat, which she had hung over the chair to allow it to dry, the room key and headed downstairs. 

She casually smiled at the other tenets as she headed downstairs. As she was heading out, she accidentally bumped into another one of the tenets.

"Oh I'm so sorry" Rose said.

"It's okay; I'm Elizabeth, Elizabeth Maxon."

Rose stretched her arm out and shook Elizabeth's hand, "Rose Dawson, pleasure to meet you."

Elizabeth smiled, "Nice to meet you to, on your way out?"

"Yes, I need to find a job today."

"Me too, since Mildred encourages us to walk with one another, would you like to walk together today?"

"Sure."

Elizabeth and Rose headed out and began walking south on 67th street.

"When did you get here?" Elizabeth asked.

"Just last night, I was aboard the Titanic."

Elizabeth stopped walking, "I heard about that. I'm so sorry."

Rose nodded and quickly decided to change the subject, "So I'm not obviously familiar with New York City."

Elizabeth took Rose's hand, "Well, the brownstone is what is considered the Upper West Side, which is a ritzy area, obviously you know that Mrs. O'Rielly comes from money."

Rose nodded and allowed Elizabeth to continue, "All the textiles are in the industrial area, which is in midtown Manhattan. We can walk there, but it is a long walk. I usually take the trolley, which is five cents each way."

"I have no money right now." Rose replied, not wanting to give away the fact that she had Cal's wad of money in her pocket.

"That's okay; I can cover for you today."

Twenty minutes later the two women sat on the trolley headed towards midtown.

"Why are you here in New York City?" Rose asked Elizabeth.

"Well, I have always wanted to be one of the Ziegfeld girls. When I turned 18 I told my parents of my dream. While they were less than thrilled, we reached an agreement, they would support my dream for two months, if it worked out than I would get to stay, if not I have to go back home and marry."

"Your parents are going to force you to marry?"

"Well yes, but I agreed. I am living my dream, if it happens it happens, if not I need to uphold my end of the agreement and return home."

"If your parents are supporting you financially, how come you are looking for a job?"

"Well, I heard around that one of the textile companies has gentlemen that frequent the Ziegfeld follies and that the owners tend to come in and look for new talent in the factory from time to time."

Rose wasn't sure if what Elizabeth was telling her was truthful, but she wasn't about to say anything and dash the girls hopes and dreams.

"This is the company we are going to then?" Rose asked.

Elizabeth nodded.

Rose decided she no longer felt like talking and began to look at the city slowly going by her. It was not but a couple moments later when she began to feel dizzy and queasy. She put her hand over her mouth in an attempt to not throw up on the trolley.

"Rose, are you okay?"

"No, I need to get off, I'm not feeling well."

"Okay. Driver!" Elizabeth yelled, "There is a sick woman back here, will you please pull over so we can get off?"

The driver nodded and quickly pulled over, Rose and Elizabeth rushed off the trolley. Rose barely made it to the wastebasket on the sidewalk before she emptied her stomach contents, which weren't much. Elizabeth guided Rose over to the wall and the two women rested for a moment.

"Are you feeling better?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, I just got so dizzy and nauseous. But if it is alright with you I would much rather walk the rest of the way."

Elizabeth nodded, "it's not much farther from here."

The two women walked in silence and in roughly twenty minutes time arrived at Smythe Textiles. They entered the small office where they were greeted by an elderly receptionist, who immediately gave them a half sheet of paper to fill out with their names, address and age. Once done they handed the sheets back to her. The woman nodded and walked to a door at the end of the narrow office, she knocked and a plump man of about fifty answered and took the papers. He looked at Rose and Elizabeth and called them both into the office.

"Ms. Dawson and Ms. Maxon"

The women nodded and shook the man's hand. "My name is Edward Smythe; I'm one of the owner's of the company. We pay twenty cents an hour, for ten hour days. You are to work six days a week, Monday through Saturday. The hours are from seven am to seven pm. You get one thirty minute lunch, unpaid a day. Your wage is based upon you completing 10 garments, which are men's trousers, in an hour. For those women who complete more than their 10 garments in an hour, we will give an additional one cent for each garment. Payday is every Friday. Do you have any questions?"

The women shook their heads.

"Good, you both start tomorrow."

With that they were dismissed from the office.

* * *

AN: I really tried to keep the continuity as best I could. I actually have a BA in History and know a bit about the era, but unfortunately all my books and notes are in storage. I did look up information on the internet and it was hard to find things. So obviously, please allow me to take some creative licenses, but I will try to keep it as accurate as I can. 

Don't forget to hit that pretty "submit a review" button :-D


	2. Chapter 2

Ready to Make Nice

Written by: adpi24

Disclaimer: Sorry still don't own them

Pairing: Cal/Rose

AN: Thank you to justplainLilly, Bohemian Anne and EnglishRose17 for reviewing chapter one. I really appreciate it.

The movie never outright states why Rose, Cal and Ruth were in England in the first place, the only thing the official movie site states is that Rose was born in Philadelphia and that Cal, being heir to a Pittsburgh steel fortune, was probably also born in the states. So I'm taking creative license as to why they were in Southampton, England in the first place.

Mansbridge is a district (suburb) of Southampton.

I did find a calendar from 1912 at So the dates I'm choosing are accurate on whether they are a Friday, Saturday, etc…

Finally, this is where the story definitely goes Alternative Universe. I will try to keep it in as much character as I can, but I have very specific goals. Historically with the time period, I will try to keep it as accurate as I can.

_

* * *

Friday March 1st, 1912_

_Even through the cool Mansbridge air the mansion at the Hockley estate was abuzz with activity. Servants were rushing around the house and yards attempting to prepare for the nights festivities, the engagement party for Caledon Hockley and Rose DeWitt-Bukater. Tables were being set up; chairs were being put into place. Vases with extraordinary flowers were being placed on every available surface. In the kitchen, the entire culinary staff was busy at work preparing the night's o'rderves, main course and deserts._

_While all this was going on Rose was upstairs, in the room given to her during her stay, looking out the window. She was fiddling with her engagement ring and had a smile on her face. This was what she wanted; she wanted to be married to Cal. Yes, she was young, but most of her friends were already engaged or married. Yes, she was a bit scared, but a part of her was ready to settle down and to have a family._

_A knock on the door brought Rose out of her revere and her two hand maidens walked in, they would be helping her get ready for tonight's festivities._

_

* * *

_

_Caledon Hockley, at the same time Rose was preparing herself, was in his own room down at the other end of the house from her, also getting ready. Tonight was the night that he would show Rose off to all of Southampton, and even London, high society. Many eligible women in not only Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but England as well, had endeavored to become his fiancée. But the moment he met Rose, he was lost._

_They had met in January, back in Philadelphia. The Hockley family was celebrating the wedding of Cal's younger sister, Margaret. Rose and her mother, Ruth, had been invited to the wedding and the reception. Cal saw her walk into the reception hall, wearing a pale blue dress and her red ringlets trailing down her back and he knew that she would be his wife. As soon as time dictated, he approached her for a dance. Rose had been quite shy at first, but agreed. From that moment on they were inseparable. He showered her with gifts and his affection. He knew in his heart that he loved her fiercely, but showing it was incredibly difficult for him. He hadn't been raised to show his emotions. Emotions were a sign of weakness according to his father._

_Cal returned his thoughts to his present task and finished getting ready, so that he could make his way downstairs and greet the guests who were now beginning to arrive._

_

* * *

_

_"Thank you" Rose said to her servants as they left her to look at the finished product in the mirror. She had to admit that she looked stunning. She smiled at the thought of what Cal's face would look like when he saw her._

_

* * *

_

_"Where is Rose?" Ruth DeWitt Bukater asked her future son in law._

_"Probably finishing getting ready, you know Rose, she has to look perfect." Cal replied nonchalantly._

_Before Ruth could reply, Rose appeared at the top of the stairs, Cal's mouth opened slightly as he took in the sight of her._

_She looked absolutely breathtaking!_

_She was wearing a royal blue dress with a full skirt. A layer of beaded black lace overlaid the dress. Her flowing hair was left mostly down with part of it pinned up out of her face._

_"Mother, Cal" Rose said as she appeared before them._

_"Rose. You look beautiful" Ruth stated_

_"Thank you"_

_Ruth took it as her cue to leave the couple alone, "Well, I will leave you alone for a moment. Cal, your father will be making the announcement soon, so both of you should be ready to go outside."_

_They nodded at Ruth, who left them alone._

_"Rose, you look absolutely stunning"_

_She smiled, "Thank you, you look quite handsome yourself"_

_Cal looked around quickly and saw they were completely alone; he leaned down and gently placed a kiss on her lips. Rose brought her hands to his face, they pulled apart moments later. Cal pulled Rose into his arms and she let herself be hugged by him._

_Cal heard his father begin to make his toast for them, "you ready to head outside?"_

_Rose looked up and smiled, she took his hand and they headed out to the waiting guests._

_

* * *

_

_Rose was tired by the time the last guest left. She and Cal had spent quite a bit of the evening accepting everyone's "congratulations". Only when dinner was served and when the band was playing did they get any alone time, which is what she was desperately craving. After everyone had gone, they (Cal, his parents, her mother) made their way to their rooms. Cal's parents and Ruth were in rooms at the complete opposite end of the mansion from Rose and Cal._

_Once in her room, the servants helped Rose get out of her dress and corset and she changed into her nightgown. As she was changing into her nightgown she made up her mind, she wanted to spend the night with Cal. She waited for about thirty minutes before getting up from her bed._

_She quietly opened up the door to her room and peaked out. She didn't hear a sound. She silently exited the room and ever so quietly closed the door behind her. She made her way, soundlessly, down to Cal's room. She got a bit nervous as she approached his room; she had never done anything like this before. She had told herself she would lose her virginity when she married, but she was definitely feeling the pressure. She was feeling it from Cal, who wanted to be with her. She was even feeling it from her mom, who was insisting that she make "Cal happy". She reasoned with herself by saying "we're engaged, we're to be married, and so it's okay"._

_She saw that his light was off; she hoped that he wasn't already asleep. She opened the door and stepped into the room, quickly closing the door behind her. The problem was, he wasn't there. She was about to worry until she heard the water in the washroom to the right run. She walked over and sat down on the bed, waiting for him to come out._

_Cal turned off the faucet and dried his hands. He opened the door and turned off the light, but was shocked to see Rose sitting on his bed._

_"Rose what are you doing here?" He said walking over to her._

_"I hope you don't mind. I" Rose paused, "I wanted to be with you tonight."_

_Cal smiled, "of course I don't mind" he said sitting down next to her and cupping her face with his hands, "are you sure?"_

_Rose smiled, "yes, more than anything."_

_Cal leaned in and kissed her, Rose responded to the kiss. He gently pushed her back onto the bed, covering her body with his. Rose let herself be swept away with the kiss and felt passion ignite into her body._

_After they made love, Rose felt a pang of guilt for having sex before she was married, but the other part of her felt very content and pleased with what had transpired. She decided to not worry about it at that moment. She snuggled herself into Cal's body. She placed her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. The sound of his heartbeat and even breathing lulled her into a dream filled sleep._

* * *

Sunday June 23, 1912

Rose was beyond relieved that it was a Sunday, which meant she didn't have to go in to the factory. She was exhausted. The ten hour days were dragging her down.

She decided that she needed to get out, just walk around. As much as the high society, socialite lifestyle sometimes wore on her, now that she was barely surviving she was starting to contemplate her decisions much more. She put on the dress she wore when the Titanic sank, as much as the dress brought back many memories; she had no other "nice" dress to wear out. She also put on Cal's coat (which went everywhere with her) and got some money out of the safety deposit box she kept in the closet.

About a week after she got to the brownstone she approached Mrs. O'Rielly. She explained that she had some pricey items and she wanted them to be secure. Mrs. O'Rielly understood and didn't pressure Rose for more details, she agreed to purchase the box for Rose (with Cal's money).

She locked the box back up and hid it back into the closet. She grabbed a purse she had bought and put the money and her keys in it and left the room, making sure to lock up behind her.

As she was leaving the Brownstone, she ran into Elizabeth, who was just coming in from rehearsal at the new playhouse she was a member of.

"Hello Rose, where are you off too?"

"I am going to go uptown; I need to get out for a while"

Elizabeth peered at her, something wasn't quite right and she was determined to find out what.

"Mind if I join you?" Elizabeth asked

Rose smiled, "no, I'd love the company."

The two women headed out and began walking north. Rose walked silently lost in her own thoughts. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was internally debating how to approach Rose with her concerns. Finally, she just decided to bite the bullet and ask her.

"Rose, are you okay?"

Rose turned and looked at her, "what?"

"Are you okay? I can tell that something isn't right with you."

Rose sighed; she really did want to tell someone what she was dealing with. She spotted a little park across the street with some benches.

"Let's go sit down over there" she said pointing.

Elizabeth nodded and they crossed the street. Rose led them to some benches away from the street, in a private area.

"So what is going on?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't know where to start."

"Start at the beginning."

Rose nodded, "okay". She reached down and pulled something out of the coat pocket, opened her hand and showed Elizabeth, who gasped.

"My goodness, it's beautiful"

"This was my engagement ring. I became engaged in February. When I first met Cal" Rose said, conveniently leaving off his last name, since the name Hockley was well known in even New York City. "I was so taken with him. My father had just died a year previous. It was my mother and I. I met him at a wedding in January. He…he was so different. He showered me with love and affection and gifts. But that changed. He started to show a controlling side. He demanded that I behave a certain way. He told me what to wear, where to go, at some times who I could even speak too. He stopped talking to me the way he used to. Then Titanic happened."

"It's okay Rose, you can trust me" Elizabeth said.

"I met a man, Jack, while on the Titanic. I became enamored with him. He began to show me a world that I wasn't used to. I was used to rules and people telling me what to do, when to do it and even how to do it. Even though Cal had been horrible to me, I was horrible to him during that voyage. And now I'm just lost."

"Rose, you still love him don't you?"

"Cal?"

"Yeah."

"It's so much more complicated than that though."

"Why?"

"Because Jack showed me a life that I would like to live, but I do miss the way Cal and I were before April. Everything changed in April. I just don't know what to do anymore. I don't know if I can do this by myself."

"How far along are you?" Elizabeth asked

Rose looked up completely surprised, "how did you…?"

"Rose, you've been throwing up. You've gained weight, your appetites changed."

Rose sighed, "Almost four months. I knew I was pregnant when I was on the Titanic. I slept with him, for the first time, at our engagement party. I was feeling pressure from him and my mom and even a little from myself. I justified my actions because we were engaged. I was going to tell him when we got to the states. I knew we would keep it quiet until we married."

"What do you want to do Rose?"

"Honestly, our child doesn't deserve to live like this. I can barely afford food. But how do I go back. Everyone thinks I'm dead."

"What?"

"That's the other part; I stayed on the ship with Jack. The water was like knives stabbing at my body. We swam to a piece of floating wood; I think it was a table. I laid on it, Jack stayed in the water. I don't know how long I laid there. I saw lights. I tried to wake Jack, but was dead. I told him I would never forget and I swam over to a man who had a whistle in his mouth. I blew it and the lifeboat came and rescued me. Because mostly steerage were still on the ship, the Carpathia staff assumed I was steerage. Cal came looking for me, but I couldn't see him then. When the ship landed at the port, I told them my name was Rose Dawson. So Cal and my mother think I'm dead. How do I come back from the dead?"

Elizabeth sat thinking for a moment and suddenly blurted out, "amnesia"

Rose laughed, "What?"

"Look, you want to do what's best for the baby right?"

"Yeah"

"So you find him. You go to him. You tell him all of your feelings. You lay down some ground rules. But you tell the public, his family, your mom, that you had amnesia and you recently got your memory back."

"Where did you come up with this?"

"I read a play on it" Elizabeth stated.

"So Miss Elizabeth, how do you propose I find him?"

"Let's continue our way uptown. You're dressed like high society, I'll just pretend to be your maid and you just casually ask around. If he's here, I'm sure someone would know."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely" Elizabeth said standing up. "Let's go, Miss Dawson"

Rose laughed and got up, thinking "what have I just gotten myself into".

* * *

AN: I wanted to express why I wrote Cal the way I did in the Flashback sequence. I did it mainly because I'm sure Rose was pressured by her mother to marry him, but I'm also sure that Cal probably wooed her. He probably showered her with gifts and affection to what she wasn't used too. Since I made her go to him, I'm also taking the liberty that he would have shown some affection for their first time together. 

I did do some research online regarding safety deposit boxes. From what I can tell, they were around in the 1912's. They were probably expensive though, so that is why I had Rose approach Mrs. O'Rielly.


	3. Chapter 3

Ready to Make Nice

Written by: adpi24

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything

AN: Just a reminder that this is an alternative universe fiction. I will be trying to keep the characters as much "in character" as I can, but I have specific goals for this fiction. I will try to keep the historical period as accurate as I can.

Thank you to hollister92, Angel of Beauty & JustplainLilly for the reviews. I am so thrilled that you guys are loving the story. I am having a blast writing it!!!!

* * *

Sunday June 23rd, 1912

Rose and Elizabeth reached uptown roughly fifteen minutes after their conversation in the park. The women began walking into the many shops, in hopes that they would overhear someone discussing Cal and therefore Rose could interrupt. As much as she wanted information, she knew it would be inappropriate for her to blatantly walk up to someone and ask "do you know Caledon Hockley? Where is he?"

After an hour of doing this, Rose was getting tired as was Elizabeth. They agreed to go to one more store and then just call it a day and try the following Sunday.

Rose and Elizabeth walked into an upscale ladies boutique, the bell rang as they walked in and they were immediately greeted.

"Hello" the sales lady stated

"Hello" Rose replied back and began to meander around the store, with Elizabeth following closely behind. She began to look at the clothing, fingering the fabrics, remembering the times she would go into shops like this with her mother. Her mother would insist that Rose had a new dress for practically every occasion. As much as Rose hated going and "showing off" their wealth, a part of her did enjoy the time she and her mother would get to spend together.

"I hear he hasn't been doing to well" a lady to her left, with blonde hair, said.

"I hear he hasn't been outside since it happened." The lady to the blonde's right, with brown hair, replied.

"I spoke to Mary Williams, who is friends with Margaret, and she told me that George is throwing a party for Cal."

Rose immediately perked her ears up. After an hour of hoping someone would talk about Cal, she finally found women who were gossiping about him.

Rose walked closer to them and cleared her throat, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I am a friend of Margaret's and I was wondering how Cal was doing?"

"Hello, I'm Anna Cunningham and this is Beatrice Willerton."

Rose shook the two ladies hands, "I'm Rose De..Dawson" Rose grimaced on the inside. She almost said her name of DeWitt-Bukater. She really hoped Anna and Beatrice wouldn't pay attention to her mistake.

"It's nice to meet you Ms. Dawson, so you are a friend of Margaret's?" Anna asked.

"Yes, I met her at finishing school" Rose said hoping that neither one actually went to finishing school with Margaret. "But we've lost touch over the years. When I read about the tragedy of the Titanic and saw Cal's name on the manifest of survivors, I've been curious to how the family has been doing."

The women smiled and Rose inwardly thanked god that they were buying her story.

"Well, he hasn't been doing to well" Beatrice answered.

"Really, might I ask why not?" Rose inquired.

"He lost his fiancée in the disaster" Anna answered.

"Oh my"

"Yes, and he has been heartbroken. I have been told that he has completely withdrawn himself from society and his family. That he spends most of days in the house, mourning the loss of her. I believe he has only gone out twice since the disaster, once to dinner with his sister and her husband and the second was to the ballet with his mother."

"Is he still here in New York City or has he gone back to Pittsburg?"

"No, I heard that he told his family that he wasn't ready to go back there yet, since that is where he met his fiancée in the first place." Beatrice said.

Rose thought about what Beatrice and Anna told her for a moment before stating, "Like I said, I didn't mean to interrupt or eavesdrop, but you said something about his father, George, throwing him party. Why…?"

"We have been asking ourselves that?" Anna said

"Obviously, the man is still grieving over the loss of his fiancée, forcing him to go to a party and forcing suitable young women down him isn't what is best right now for him." Beatrice said.

"Now, don't get me wrong, if I weren't married, I'd want to be one of those young women, but it's only been a little over two months since he lost her."

"But on the other hand, he does eventually need to move on." Beatrice pointed out.

"True, true." Anna said, "But the man does need some time. It has only been a couple of months and from what I've heard he truly loved her. He is just devastated by her passing."

"When is Mr. Hockley throwing the party for Cal?" Rose inquired.

"I believe it will be on July 27th at the Plaza hotel" Anna told her.

"It was nice talking to you Rose, but Anna and I must be going." Beatrice said.

"It was wonderful talking to you, thank you for answering all my questions." Rose said, smiling.

"You're very welcome." Anna replied as she and Beatrice exited the store.

Rose turned to Elizabeth, "You found him" Elizabeth said.

"Yeah, I did. Now what do I do?" Rose said.

"I'm not sure, but we should be heading back to the brownstone."

"Yes, we should be going."

Rose nodded and headed out of the store, thanking the sales lady as she left.

Just like in the morning, the two women walked in silence before Elizabeth, again, broke the silence.

"So how are you feeling about what you just found out?"

"I honestly don't know. Finding out how Cal is doing, makes me even more confused."

"Why?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't know…I just never expected Cal to still be mourning my "death". He…" Rose trailed off.

"He rarely showed emotion to you."

"Yeah. I would beg him to tell me what he was thinking. To tell me how he was feeling. I would get nothing. I can only think of one time where he really, truly let his guard down."

"When was that?" Elizabeth asked.

Rose stopped walking and turned to face Elizabeth, and put her hands on her growing abdomen, "the night our baby was conceived. He knew I was giving him my virginity. He knew I was nervous. He was so gentle and loving. And then everything changed. He became cold and distant. And then he just got worse the closer it got to coming to the states for our wedding. Everything took its toll and the culmination was Titanic. Everything went awry then."

The women began walking again, "what do you mean took its toll?"

"Well, the wedding plans. I was difficult. My mother, who was with me and Cal in England, was coordinating with his mom, who is in Pittsburg, on a wedding that was to be held a month ago, in Pittsburg. I was picky, I wanted lavender bridesmaid dresses, which infuriated my mother because one, she hated the color and two; the color was hard to find. I wanted certain flowers, roses and lily of the valley. My mother really pushed me into marrying Cal, so I figured I was going to get the wedding I wanted. So Cal dealt with my bickering and whining. He dealt with my mother pitching a fit. Then his parents inserted their opinions, and most of the time they didn't agree with what I wanted."

Rose paused, "I'm not trying to make excuses for Cal's behavior, but all this time away from, all I can do is think about it. Think about what I did, what he did. Like I said earlier, we were horrible to each other."

"I'm not one to judge, but I really think if you do in fact decide to attend the party, you need to tell him all that you've told me. Remember, it's not about you and him anymore, it's about your child."

* * *

Friday July 27th, 1912

Rose was nervous as she waited for her ride to the Plaza hotel. She had asked Mrs. O'Rielly for a favor and she agreed to have her chauffer pick Rose up and take her to the hotel.

She had gone out the week prior with Elizabeth and found a dress for the evening. It was a deep forest green satin, empire waist dress. The dress had a scoop neck that wasn't to revealing. Imported forest green lace with gold embroidery flowed from the empire waist to the floor. The back of the dress had a slight train. While it was apparent she was pregnant, she had been covering by wearing Cal's jacket at all hours of the day when she was in public, mainly because the only person who knew of her condition was Elizabeth. Her long red hair, was flowing down her back, a couple of strands were pulled back with bobby pins. The only jewelry she had on was her engagement ring, which she actually hadn't taken off since the time a month ago when she had shown it to Elizabeth.

She heard the horn of a car honk, and went outside; the chauffer opened the back door up for her.

"Thank you"

"Your welcome Miss, I understand I will be taking you to the Plaza hotel."

"Yes, thank you."

The chauffer nodded, closed the door and went back to the driver's side. Rose wringed her hands the entire way to the hotel, she was incredibly nervous. She had practiced with Elizabeth what to say to Cal and to others when they asked what happened to her.

"We're here Ma'am" The chauffer said.

Rose had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice that they were parked in front of the hotel.

"Thank you"

The chauffer nodded and exited the vehicle, walked around and opened the door for her. She took his hand and got out of the car.

"Will you need a way back to Mrs. O'Rielly's brownstone later on ma'am?" The chauffer asked.

"No, I won't, thank you though."

The chauffer nodded and left.

Rose stood in front of the hotel, willing herself to go in. She didn't expect to be as nervous as she was. She took a deep breath and headed inside.

"Welcome to the plaza hotel" a doorman greeted her as she entered. "How might I help you this evening ma'am?"

"I'm here for the Hockley gala." Rose replied.

"Yes ma'am, the Hockley party is being held in the Grand Ballroom, go to the back" the man said pointing straight ahead "and make a left, it will be the first ballroom to your right."

"Thank you"

The man nodded and Rose made her way to the back, following, what she assumed, were other guests for the party. At the entrance to the ballroom, were coat clerks, she handed her coat, well Cal's coat, over and gave her name.

She immediately began scanning the room. She found Cal rather quickly. He was at the far end, holding a glass of champagne. She counted about four socialites gathered around him. The women were attempting to keep him in conversation, but even from where she was standing she could tell he wasn't interested.

She began to walk over towards him and as she got closer she saw a blonde appear to be all over Cal. She was touching his arms and hands. A part of her got extremely upset about this women's behavior. She straightened her back and looked straight ahead.

She made sure to approach Cal from behind; she took his hand in hers and said to the group of women.

"Is there a reason why you are flirting with my fiancée?"

* * *

AN: I know I'm so mean leaving it right there, but this was just the perfect ending for the chapter. 


	4. Chapter 4

Ready to Make Nice

Written by: adpi24

Disclaimer: Sorry still don't anything.

Pairing: Cal/Rose

AN: Thank you so much to Starlight63, Angel of Beauty and JustplainLilly for the reviews!

Edit: Thank you to Angel of Beauty for telling me what Cal's father's name was. I should have just popped in the DVD but that would have been too easy. LOL.

Also, I am out of town until the 6th. I will try to write chapter 5 when I can. So please be a bit patient on that chapter.

* * *

She made sure to approach Cal from behind; she took his hand in hers and said to the group of women.

"Is there a reason why you are flirting with my fiancée?"

The women looked at her with surprise and disdain. The blonde glared at Rose and spoke up.

"And you would be?"

Rose smiled politely, "Rose DeWitt-Bukater" she let go of Cal's hand and held her right one out to shake their hands while conveniently moving some hair out of her face to show off her engagement ring. "And you are?" she asked.

"Helen Fosser"

"Josephine White"

"Betty Davidson"

"Alice Stockton"

Rose shook all their hands, then immediately reclaimed Cal's left hand in her right one.

"Now that I know who you are, can someone please answer my question?"

The women all shared glances with each other, "what was the question?" Alice asked.

"Why were you" Rose said looking directly at Helen, "actually all of you, flirting with my fiancée?"

"I apologize for the mistake." Josephine said and took her leave, Betty and Alice followed suit in apologies. The only one left was Helen, who stood there defiantly.

"Well for one thing, we were under the impression that you were dead." Helen stated coldly.

"Oh, when did I supposedly die?" Rose asked coyly.

"On the Titanic."

"So supposedly I died on the sinking of the Titanic, which was not four months ago, and you think it's okay to be flirting with him. Would you want someone to start flirting with you while you were still mourning the loss of one you loved?"

Rose didn't expect her to answer the rhetorical question; the women stood glaring at one another. Rose never expected to feel this much jealously of women flirting with Cal. She had witnessed it many times during their courtship and then engagement, but she let it slide. When it occurred during their engagement she was starting to resent the way he was treating her, so she didn't even care if a woman flirted with him.

Rose put her left hand on her abdomen and looked straight into Helen's eyes, "So really, my final question to you would be, do I look dead?" Rose asked politely, yet firmly, to Helen.

"No, as a matter of fact, you look pregnant."

"Well, it could be because I am." Rose replied, smiling politely to Helen, "Now if you would please excuse us, I need to speak to my fiancée in private."

Helen nodded and walked away. Rose turned to face Cal; his face was marred with shock. Before she knew what was happening, Cal had embraced her. They stayed that way for a time, when Rose began to feel the pressure.

"Cal, I can't breathe."

"I apologize. I just…"

"I know" Rose paused, "Cal, we'll talk later. Right now, we have this amazing party that your parents have thrown and we need to mingle."

"Rose, I apologize for everything I…" Cal said trailing off.

"Cal, I accept your apology and like I said, I promise we'll talk later."

"Okay"

"Okay then." Rose said smiling, "I really need to eat. I've been so nervous about seeing you again that I haven't eaten, and needless to say, your child hasn't been too incredibly happy about that."

Cal looked down at her burgeoning abdomen, and then looked back up at her. Rose took his hand and placed it on her abdomen.

"We'll talk later."

Cal nodded, he lifted his hand from her abdomen and took her hand in his and walked over to the main table, where at the moment his parents were.

Cal looked at her with confusion and fear in his eyes. She smiled, "its okay, I've got it all taken care of."

"Oh my god, Rose!" Frances Hockley exclaimed.

"Good lord!" Nathan Hockley stated.

Rose released Cal's hand and went to his parents, who were now standing. She embraced his mother, who was at this point crying. She went to his father, ready to shake his hand, when he pulled her into a hug.

"We heard you were deceased. What is going on?" Frances asked.

"You're pregnant." Nathan stated.

By this time Cal was now standing behind Rose and had pulled a chair out for her to sit down.

"Thank you Cal" Rose said and took a seat. She gestured for his parents to do the same. They sat down directly across from her. Cal took a seat to her left.

"I will start with the obvious, yes I'm pregnant. I am almost five months pregnant, I estimate that I am due in late November or early December."

Cal's parents glanced at each other, silently acknowledging to one another when, in fact, Rose had become pregnant.

"And as for the second part, you believing I was deceased, it comes down to an error."

"An error?" Nathan questioned.

"There was a considerable amount of chaos occurring on the Titanic during the sinking. At one point, I hit my head and was knocked unconscious."

"Why wasn't Caledon with you at the time?" Nathan asked firmly, starring down at his son.

"It wasn't Cal's fault, I had insisted on going back to the room for a precious item I had forgotten and you know how stubborn I am. It was on my way back from the room that I hit my head. A fellow passenger from steerage found me. We were unable to make it back to the lifeboats prior to them all be lowered. This kind passenger guided me around the ship and told me what to do to survive. His name was Jack Dawson."

Rose paused to take a sip of water before continuing her tale, "When I got aboard the Carpathia I was taken to where steerage passengers awaited. I had no memory of who I was except that my first name was Rose and that a man named Jack Dawson helped me. With no knowledge of who I was, I told the man on the Carpathia that my name was Rose Dawson."

"A nice woman by the name of Mildred O'Rielly took me in. I eventually obtained work at a garment factory to pay for my rent. It was about three weeks ago that I accidentally hit my head at work and my memory came rushing back to me."

"Why didn't you try to locate Cal, us, your mother then?" Frances asked.

"Because I didn't know where you were." Rose said "at least that part is the truth" she thought to herself.

"I went around to some of the upscale boutiques and I found out from some wonderful ladies about this party. I knew you all of you would be here then, so I waited until this evening.

Frances got up and walked over to Rose, "I'm so happy that you are alive and well Rose."

Rose stood up and accepted Frances' hug. "Thank you"

* * *

The rest of the evening became a blur for Rose. After they ate, she and Cal walked around saying hello to people. All of whom were absolutely shocked that she was alive. Luckily, since she had told her "amnesia" story once, Cal played along and began to tell people she suffered amnesia along with his parents.

As it got close to nine, Rose whispered in Cal's ear that she was getting tired but that they needed to talk tonight. Cal simply nodded; he left Rose for a moment, told his parents that they were leaving. The two walked together to the coat check. They retrieved their coats and Cal was again surprised to see that Rose was had brought the coat he gave her on Titanic.

They walked out to the waiting chauffer and Cal instructed him to the Hockley brownstone.

"I still have most of the money and necklace. They are in a safety deposit box back at the room I'm renting." Rose said.

"Okay" Cal said mutely.

"Cal, will you do something for me?" Rose asked

Cal looked up at her, "anything?"

"Be honest with me. Tell me exactly what your thinking, what you are feeling."

"Rose…"

"No, Cal! That is all I ever wanted from you. I wanted you to talk to me, to tell me things, to share things with me. But you refused. You just assumed that because your father treated your mother that way, that I would want the same thing. But I didn't Cal! I didn't! Why couldn't you see that?"

Cal took a deep breath and brought his hands to his face. After a moment he put his hand back on his lap and looked at her.

"I was horrible to you Rose."

"And I was horrible to you Cal. We were horrible to each other."

"All I wanted was for you to love me."

"Why couldn't you see that I did love you? But the moment you started pushing me away, when you started treating me like I was a mere possession, I honestly began to despise you Cal. I'm not anyone's possession, least of all yours. I was going to be your wife."

Cal sat silently and took in what Rose was saying. They remained in silence until they arrived at the Hockley brownstone. The chauffer opened their door and Cal exited first, and then helped Rose. They walked into the house where they were greeted by servants. Some were confused by Rose walking in, others, who knew Rose, were shocked to see her alive. Cal quickly explained that Rose was his fiancée and that she had had amnesia the last couple of months. He also explained that they would need a room fixed up, immediately, for her. The staff quickly got to work.

"Cal, I would really like to change out of this dress, Margaret wouldn't have some nightgowns here would she?"

"I believe so. Let me ask Grace, she is the head maid."

"Thanks."

Cal and Rose went up the stairs, Cal escorted her into what would be her room for the evening and left to go find Grace. He returned approximately fifteen minutes later with a nightgown for her.

"Here you go. Margaret left it the last time she and Thomas visited."

"Thank you"

They stood in silence for a moment, when Cal became uncomfortable; he tried to make a discreet exit, when Rose stopped him.

"Do you mind helping me unzip my dress?"

"I don't think…."

"Cal, seriously." Rose said and closed the door behind him. She then took both of his hands and placed them on her abdomen, "you've seen me naked, and how do you think we made this baby? All I am asking you to do is unzip my dress. I have undergarments on."

Cal nodded. Rose turned around and he unzipped her dress. She stepped out of it and he bent down and picked it up, walked over to the closet and hung it up. By the time he had turned around to face Rose again, she had already slipped off her undergarments and put Margaret's nightgown on.

Rose sat down on the bed, leaned against a pillow and propped her feet in front of her.

"Cal, why don't you sit down so we can talk?"

He nodded and pulled the chair from the desk and sat right in front of the bed.

"Now will you please be honest with me and tell me how you feel? I've been honest with you thus far; I expect it from you now."

Cal took a deep breath before speaking. "You are right Rose, I should have never treated you the way I did. I am not going to make excuses. I've spent the last 4 months thinking about nothing but our relationship."

"And?"

"I think we were both hasty in our engagement."

Rose was surprised she never expected Cal to say that to her.

"You had just lost your father; your mother was pushing you into an engagement with me so that you would be secure. My parents were pushing me into an engagement, with anyone because here I was thirty years of age and god forbid wasn't married yet. I was honestly mostly thinking about the money I would inherit from me marrying."

"Cal, I want you to know that even though we were both being pressured by our respective parents to become engaged, I can honestly say that when you asked me to be your wife I was overjoyed. Even though there are parts of this life that I despise, I did and do want to be secure."

"Why did you come back Rose?"

"Honestly?"

"Of course"

"Our baby" Rose said, "I wanted to make a fresh start. Away from what I considered at times meaningless conversations with other socialites. In this society, I can't even undress myself Cal. I have to have a maid with me. I hate that. It felt so liberating these last couple of months living in, pretty much, poverty. I dressed myself. I had to cook for myself. I cleaned up after myself. I don't mind getting my hands dirty Cal."

"Where I can say I don't"

"I know you don't. And I understand that about you. And it's fine, but please understand that there are things that I want and need to do on my own."

Rose took a breath, "anyways, I'm deviating from what you asked me. Like I said I was living in practically poverty. I was making roughly twenty dollars a week, more if I produced more garments. I think a part of me knew I was pregnant when we boarded the Titanic, but I wasn't quite sure. The other part of me just assumed I was late because of the stress regarding the wedding plans and our fights and lack of communication."

"Once I truly realized and then accepted I was pregnant. I thought long and hard and I made the decision and I need to do what is best for my child, our child. So essentially I got selfish. I want what is best for our child. I could not, by myself, give our child what it will need. Plus, I didn't feel if was appropriate for you not to know your child and our child has every right to know its father."

Cal sighed and sat back in his chair. Rose moved herself to the edge of the bed and sat in front of him.

"Cal, I know I'm being selfish right now, but can you blame me. Do you not want our child to have what it should have?"

He nodded in agreement.

"But we need to make some conditions."

"Conditions?"

"Yes"

"Like what?" Cal asked

"One, we are to treat each other as equals. You will respect me and I will in turn respect you. I will be honest with you and again, in turn, you will be honest with me."

"Agreed"

"Two, I don't want either of our family names to be effected because I am pregnant outside of wedlock, so I want us to marry."

Cal looked at her surprised by the suggestion, "Are you sure?"

"I'm not saying our marriage won't take work, because it will. We will have to listen to one another, talk to one another. Not let our parents intrude in our lives as much."

The latter comment caused Cal to smirk and Rose continued, "But I do have feelings for you Cal. I did love you at one point."

"And I, Rose"

"Do we have an agreement then?" she asked.

"Yes"

* * *

AN: This chapter, especially the end was hard for me to write. I was trying to still show the strong willed Rose, take charge person, but I was also trying to show that a part of her is used to the "first class" life. I'm not sure if I accomplished it so much.

I went through and changed all the Georges to Nathan. If I missed any please let me know.

Let me know what you think.


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